Systems Integration

Systems Integration is about viewing the world in terms of functional interrelating systems, which transfer information, energy and matter. This is not forgetting that architecture is also a system within a larger network. Architecture, as an industry, is inhibited by its introspection and as a result its methods and processes of design and fabrication have remained fundamentally unchanged since the industrial revolution.


The manufacturing of complex goods such as those of the aerospace, automobile and shipbuilding industries have streamlined their processes for efficiency. Integrated yet interchangeable assemblies and improved performance are standard on an annual basis. Simple systems create complex interdependent networks to extend the capabilities of the user.

While efficiency drives innovation in industry, material optimization has always been essential for survival in nature. Efficiency in biological systems is a result of competition for environmental resources; consequently complex biological systems are adaptive. Food chains are dependent on balanced energy transfer to allow a diverse ecosystem to function.

Breaking down complex devices reveals simple logical systems which work in coordination. Architecture within this context is not a singular entity nor is it permanent, but can become a cooperative and adaptable part of the systematic world.